Disclaimer: the usual.
Summary: Jack watches from afar as the Master makes the Doctor feel as much a prisoner as himself.
To Petty Insanity: I'm glad you've put up with me so long because I bug you heaps about…almost everything, actually. Sorry. But you should write more! Then you can bug me as well and it'll be equal. :D
Puzzle Pieces
Jack watches the CCTV footage late at night with a cup of coffee to keep him company, because he hasn't anything better to do. When one doesn't need to sleep one tends to pick up strange habits, and for Jack this is only the latest in a long line.
It started with having to track down a Drufol that had somehow managed to escape their grasp. Normally the computer would do it but it was playing up, so Jack had volunteered to search through all the tapes. There had to be over a hundred of them, but at least it gave him something to do at night no matter how tedious it was.
Until he saw the Doctor on the eighty-something-tieth tape.
His heart leapt into his throat and he sat up, eyes mere inches from the TV screen. On the grainy footage the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, talking to someone inside. Jack wished these things had audio. After a few moments, the Doctor disappeared inside for a few minutes before re-emerging, hand in hand with the Master.
Jack's mouth fell open.
The Doctor was saying something, grinning and bouncing on the balls of his feet while the Master looked at him, disgruntled. Then the Doctor bent down and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.
Jack dropped the coffee cup he was holding and goggled, not entirely able to push down his growing envy as he watched the Doctor tenderly caress the Master's face and hair while giving him the most genuine smile Jack had ever seen.
He goggled some more when the Master's lips twitched upwards as he let himself be led away by the Doctor.
Jack blinked and rubbed his eyes. Was he hallucinating?
Evidently not, because when he rewound the footage it was still there. He watched it again with his mouth set in a firm line, then fast-forwarded to the time when they returned – five hours later. Still holding hands, Jack noted dully but despite knowing he shouldn't and didn't want to be watching this, he couldn't tear his eyes away when the Master kissed the Doctor senseless against the TARDIS doors until they swung open whereupon they both tumbled inside.
Only when the TARDIS dematerialised did Jack allow himself to exhale slowly and lean back into his chair.
"What a night," he murmured, then bent down to clean up the spilt coffee.
oOo
After a week of deliberating he finally acquired more CCTV footage and in the dead of the night, he began the long task of searching through it all, not for Drufols anymore but for two Time Lords.
He got lucky on a tape dated as one week after the first one. Jack watched as the Doctor slammed the door shut behind him and locked it securely, then pressed his forehead against it, shoulders slumping as he did so. Jack frowned and narrowed his eyes, closely scrutinising him when he turned past the camera and slowly walked away. The video quality wasn't the best but Jack didn't miss the mottled bruises and fingermarks that adorned his neck, or the heavy shadows under his eyes that were almost as dark as his hair. Jack's frown deepened and his fists clenched at his sides, but there was nothing he could do. This happened months ago.
But what happened during the week between the first video and this one?
oOo
It was only on the third video, dated a couple of days later, did he realise he was seeing the events out of order.
In this one the Doctor looked almost fine apart from the taut lines in his entire being. He kept one hand firmly on the Master's back as they walked out of the camera frame, returning only an hour later with the Doctor looking like a thundercloud and the Master looking like his birthday had come early.
Jack snorted and began to fast-forward again.
oOo
He would've missed them altogether on a video dated several weeks later had the Master not punched the Doctor, sending him stumbling into the dim circle of streetlight. They were shouting at each other, each getting angrier by the second when the Doctor suddenly rammed the Master up against the brick wall, snarling in his face. Jack blinked – he had never seen the Doctor this angry before.
Suddenly the Master twisted out of his grasp and instead trapped the Doctor against the wall with his wrists pinned above his head. A moment later the Master's lips crashed against the Doctor's and his mouth, tongue and teeth worked ferociously, forcing open and invading his mouth. The Doctor struggled and fought back but even Jack could see who had the upper hand. The Master knew what the Doctor's weak point was and had no problem exploiting it.
Jack winced when the Master threw him to the ground and backhanded him when he tried to scramble away. Then the Master sat on his chest and unbuckled his belt while Jack watched with morbid fascination as the Doctor continued to fight back futilely, only stopping when the Master lashed the belt across his face.
Through the force of will alone, Jack shut his eyes tightly and fast-forwarded.
From then on he had learned to tell how much time had passed by the number of bruises and marks on the Doctor.
oOo
Apart from one clip showing the Doctor alone with red-rimmed eyes, wandering up and down a street aimlessly, there were about half a dozen clips with similar footage to that one he saw. Some were worse than others and Jack worried for the Doctor. He couldn't begin to imagine what it was like in the TARDIS.
On a seemingly ordinary night Jack was giving the surveillance cameras a passing glance like he always did while going to get more coffee for a long night in front of the TV when one of the monitors caught his eye.
Just outside the Millennium Centre the Doctor was speaking quickly to the Master, holding him by the shoulders and giving him a little shake. With a small, reassuring smile, the Doctor turned to go into the TARDIS but the Master held him back. From this angle Jack could see his face and he looked positively frightened.
Jack looked on curiously. Where in their timeline was this? The Doctor still looked terrible so it couldn't be before all that stuff…
The Doctor had entered the TARDIS now, leaving the Master outside. For a moment nothing happened but then the light on top of it lit up brilliantly and lightning connected the TARDIS to the sky as it began to split open.
"No!" Jack suddenly yelled at the monitor. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" He ran outside and was instantly pummelled by the buffeting, roaring winds that tore at him. It was only when he was knocked onto his back did he notice that the gaping chasm in the sky wasn't getting any bigger and the maelstrom was only affecting a small section of the bay area. Realisation hit him and Jack laughed, grinning widely.
No longer panicked, he clambered back to his feet and began to unsteadily weave his way towards the two Time Lords, trying to get closer to see what they were doing. He found a convenient wall nearby and crouched behind it. Neither of them had seen him; the Doctor had his fingers splayed out on the Master's temples, eyes wide and focussed, encouraging him while the Master quailed under his touch and the chasm overhead. Then slowly, with the Doctor guiding him he began to look up, straight at the sky. The Untempered Schism, Jack suddenly realised. They hadn't opened the Rift, but the Schism instead. They were getting rid of the drums.
A high, keening sound suddenly penetrated the air despite the winds and Jack clapped his hands to his ears but kept his eyes open, watching as a dark, purple-tinged gold was forced out of the Master's mind by their combined efforts. Ever so slowly it began to twist up and away from the Master, back into the vortex.
The Doctor grinned triumphantly at the Master, then pointed his sonic screwdriver into the TARDIS. The lightning, previously holding the Schism open, narrowed its branches, effectively closing it with a deafening thunderclap and returning to the TARDIS.
The silence was almost as ear-splitting as the noise from before, Jack thought as he looked back at the two Time Lords sitting on the ground, panting. "How does it feel?" he heard the Doctor ask anxiously.
The Master rubbed his hands against his head. "Quiet. Very quiet."
"That's good," he said, a hopeful note creeping into his voice.
"It feels strange."
"S'pose so."
"But really Doctor, in all honesty you should've figured out how to get rid of the drums ages ago," the Master said cuttingly. "Only you could be so stupid as to not wonder why that piece of junk you call a TARDIS kept taking us to Cardiff."
The Doctor looked down. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
The Master smirked. "Don't be," he said, reaching out to stroke the Doctor's face. "After all," he continued lightly, seemingly unaware of the other Time Lord stiffening under his touch, "Type 40s are, by definition, junk." Then he moved closer, keeping one firm hand on the back of the Doctor's neck. "So what now?" he asked in a more serious tone. "You expect me to go all goody-two-shoes, don't you?"
The Doctor shook his head. "I never said that."
"But it's what you were thinking. You just want the old days back. Don't lie to me, Doctor."
"I want the old you back," he admitted quietly.
The Master chuckled. "Drums or no drums – that might not change anything. We'll see." Then he stood up a little unsteadily while next to him the Doctor quickly got to his feet as well. The Master began to knead his temples, his expression becoming increasingly agitated. "How can you bloody stand the silence!" he suddenly growled and pushed past the Doctor, stopping a few paces away.
"It's not so bad," the Doctor replied.
The Master muttered to himself for a moment before turning around abruptly and stalking back towards the TARDIS, the Doctor hurriedly following after him. "Have we got enough energy to leave yet?" the Master asked brusquely.
"The TARDIS would be soaking it up from the Rift by now, even if we didn't open it. We bypassed it though. So –"
"Shut up. Yes or no?"
"Yes," he answered meekly.
"Yes what?" the Master asked before slamming the TARDIS doors shut behind them and dematerialising.
Jack frowned but quickly left too before the police could turn up and trouble him with more questions than he wanted.
oOo
Several months later the TARDIS materialised in the Hub, thankfully before working hours. Jack immediately abandoned the coffee machine and walked over, waiting for someone to step out but for long moments the tall box was silent and a little imposing. Jack was just getting out his own key when the Doctor emerged.
"Hey Doc," he greeted. "How've you been?"
The Doctor didn't reply, he just locked the TARDIS doors behind him and stumbled into Jack's arms. "Whoa, you all right there?" He rubbed his hands up and down the Doctor's back soothingly until his breaths suddenly hitched and he drew away quickly, wheezing. He sat down on the table opposite Jack and fingered his side carefully. "Fractured ribs," he explained, putting on the obligatory smile. "They should be healed in a couple of days. Sorry about barging in on you, by the way."
Jack nodded, too shocked to say or do anything else now that he could see up close how much damage had really been done to him. His face was thin and bruised with impossibly dark shadows under his eyes, his lips were swollen and split and his neck was a raw, angry red streaked with dried blood and more bruises. He shifted uncomfortably under Jack's scrutiny and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, inadvertently pulling up his sleeve to reveal the shredded skin of his blistered wrists.
"It's the Master, isn't it?" Jack asked unnecessarily. He'd recognise those same marks from the CCTV footage anywhere. The Doctor looked surprised and Jack remembered too late that he wasn't supposed to know that, but then he realised he didn't particularly care. "Where the hell is that bastard?" he suddenly growled and stalked over to the TARDIS.
"No, don't!" The Doctor slid off the desk and stood between him and the TARDIS. "Jack, just…don't."
Jack paused, listening to him. Up close, he could hear every rattling breath the Doctor took and it only made him angrier. "He's doing this to you, isn't he?"
"That's none of your business!" the Doctor hissed. He started to say more but then his strength seemed to leave him and he sagged against the TARDIS.
"But it is now," Jack said after a moment. "You came here, after all."
The Doctor smiled weakly and looked down. Wordlessly, Jack helped him back to the table and he couldn't help but notice how every slight movement pained him. He both wanted and didn't want to know how badly he was hurt under his crumpled suit. "You need anything?" he asked helpfully.
"No, I'm fine." The Doctor watched Jack reluctantly take the table opposite him as he reiterated, "We're fine, the both of us. I suppose I just needed to get away for a bit. He's…well, a handful to say the least."
"And he's hurting you," Jack interrupted flatly.
The Doctor's expression suddenly closed off. "Doesn't matter," he said dismissively.
"It does matter."
"I took away the only meaning of his existence – creating elaborate plans, practically inviting me to stop him every time and most of all, controlling people – you think it matters? Without all that he's doing the only thing he knows how to do."
"So you're just letting him do…this."
"I won't lose him again," he replied fiercely.
"But he's controlling you."
The Doctor shrugged, suddenly looking more exhausted than Jack had ever seen him. "It's a small price to pay," he said softly. "I don't mind."
Jack suddenly punched him, acting without thinking and barely aware he'd left his spot on the table. The Doctor was flung backwards onto the piles of paperwork behind him, knocking the stacks over as he scrabbled for a hold before Jack pulled him upright by his tie and hissed in his face, "Don't ever say that!"
The Doctor licked the fresh blood from his split lip and nodded, eyes lowered. "Yes, M-"
Jack jerked away as if burned. It was long moments before he spoke again, yet his voice was still a little shaky. "I'm sorry."
The Doctor just dipped his head further with uncharacteristic docility.
"But just listen." The Doctor didn't react at all when he turned that pale face towards him and he suddenly wondered which was worse – the Doctor flinching or not doing anything at all. He quickly gulped down the need to voice his concerns for now and said, "Doctor, you don't have to keep doing this. In fact, you're not going to keep doing this because there's no way I'm going to just sit back and let him have his way with you. It's killing you and you know it."
"Jack…" he said warningly.
"I know you think it's for the best," Jack pushed on regardless. "But if you being here is any indication of what you're thinking, you hate it. And I'm worried about you!" he suddenly burst out. The Doctor blinked at him like he couldn't believe his ears. "So stop being so bloody selfless and for once, just once, do something for yourself! For yourself, and him," he added more quietly.
The Doctor laughed then, short and bitter. "Like what, getting rid of the drums? Because I've tried that, Jack. It didn't work."
Suddenly, everything he'd seen on the CCTV footage fell into place in his mind. "Have you tried Cardiff?" he asked in a rush.
The Doctor shot him a suspicious look. "What about it?"
"I don't know. It might help?" he said as offhandedly as he could but the Doctor didn't buy it. "All right then," Jack relented, reasoning to himself that the Doctor needed a bit of hope now anyway. "If you bypass the Rift, it leads to the Schism." If that wasn't a hint, he didn't know what was.
Undoubtedly the Doctor had already caught on and Jack could see the gears whirring to life in his mind. "You mean…"
"Yeah."
The Doctor gave him a wry look, some of the usual spark returning to his eyes. "You don't even know what I'm thinking."
Jack grinned. "No, but I can guess."
He returned the grin before becoming serious again. "So in my future," he began hesitantly, "does it work?"
"I can't tell you that," Jack said apologetically.
"Right," he swallowed. "Course not."
"If you ever need me though," Jack added, "just drop by."
"Yeah." He slid off the table and began to unlock the TARDIS doors. "See you then," he said.
"Maybe in a few hundred years. Maybe even more." Jack gave him a meaningful look and the Doctor's entire self seemed to brighten.
"Really?" he asked, a shy, hopeful smile forming on his tired face.
It suddenly occurred to Jack that he actually didn't know how everything was going to turn out. So many pieces could fall anywhere into place. Hell, the Doctor could've saved the Master only to lose him again. He knew he was giving the Doctor too much false hope but he couldn't bear to shatter that for him just as he'd found it.
"Yep, really," Jack said finally, having to force those words out of his constricted throat. With what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he nudged him into the TARDIS and watched it dematerialise. Once safely alone, he quickly packed away all the CCTV tapes, swearing to himself that he'd never touch them again. And after long minutes of standing around feeling useless he finally resigned himself to making that coffee, all the while hoping for the Doctor that everything would turn out okay.
A/N: Thanks to Jack's POV, the ending (or lack thereof) is left ambiguous so that you can decide on your own ending (and also if this fic is AU or not)!
Please review!